Jason Arday, a Cambridge professor who became the university’s youngest Black professor in 2023, has died at the age of 41, just days after resigning from his position following plagiarism allegations involving his doctoral thesis.
Arday, who was appointed at Cambridge at 37, rejected allegations that he had plagiarized his 2015 doctoral thesis from Liverpool John Moores University. He said resigning was the **“only way” to bring an end to what he described as a difficult period.
He was found dead at his home in London on August 14. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death and did not publicly indicate a cause of death. His family has accused his critics of subjecting him to a “continuous campaign of harassment.”
The controversy has prompted debate over the scrutiny Arday faced, including whether his ethnicity played a role. Supporters have called for a public inquiry into what they describe as the harassment he experienced.
Arday was born in London to Ghanaian parents and had been diagnosed as a child with autism and global developmental delay. He later became a professor whose work focused on race, inequality and education.
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He is survived by two children. A petition calling for a public inquiry had gathered more than 53,000 signatures by Monday, while a fundraiser for his family had raised more than £150,000.
